Understanding Dementia...

[mani]

This is nothing to do with cats, but I've just found that the university in my home State of Tasmania is running a free, international, high quality 9-week on-line course on understanding dementia.

 I have several friends who have recently found that someone in their lives has this awful disease and who are taking a role in their care.  They're hoping this will be useful - it certainly gets good write-ups, and the University of Tasmania has very good credentials.

It may help someone.

 

[denice]

My father had this for a number of years before he passed away.  He was well into his nineties when he passed and had lost all connection with reality.  There is a tendency here in the U.S. to call all senility Alzheimers. but that isn't really accurate especially in the very elderly.  

 

[mani]

It must have been so difficult, Denice.

 

[LTS3]

Sounds interesting

Sometimes I wonder if my dad has the beginning stages of dementia or some other age-related thinking / brain issues or even mental health issues.

 

[AbbysMom]

I have such a huge mental block when it comes to this subject. My father had a form of dementia and it runs in the family. My cousins, etc are constantly posting things about dementia on Facebook, but even with him being gone eight years, it's still too raw for me.

 

[DreamerRose]

My father had dementia, but few professionals believed me because he could pull himself together when he had to. He was a know-it-all kind of person so it was very difficult when he became disoriented. We could easily argue for 30 minutes over what day of the week it was.

 

[Norachan]

Interesting! My father has just been told he may have dementia. He had surgery on his leg a year ago and even though he tries to exercise every day he's still a bit wobbly and unbalanced. The doctor has just told him it could be because he's "forgotten" how to walk properly.

He does tend to forget the names of people and places, even though he can remember events and conversations well.

He's in his 80's, so I guess a bit of memory loss is to be expected.

 

[mani]

 
Interesting! My father has just been told he may have dementia. He had surgery on his leg a year ago and even though he tries to exercise every day he's still a bit wobbly and unbalanced. The doctor has just told him it could be because he's "forgotten" how to walk properly.

He does tend to forget the names of people and places, even though he can remember events and conversations well.

He's in his 80's, so I guess a bit of memory loss is to be expected.

 And it could well just be that.  I do hope so.

 

[DreamerRose]

 
Interesting! My father has just been told he may have dementia. He had surgery on his leg a year ago and even though he tries to exercise every day he's still a bit wobbly and unbalanced. The doctor has just told him it could be because he's "forgotten" how to walk properly.

He does tend to forget the names of people and places, even though he can remember events and conversations well.

He's in his 80's, so I guess a bit of memory loss is to be expected.

It's true that as you grow older, it's harder to recall, especially names. This is a normal part of aging.

 

[catlover73]

I had a very interesting morning yesterday at work yesterday.  An elderly man showed up at the store stating that he was stranded there and had no money to get home.  He asked me for a ride home. I did not have a car at work. I paged the manager on duty and asked her.  She did not feel safe asking someone to drive him home and she could not leave the store.  I called the police department non-emergency number and asked the them for assistance because the man seemed really confused about where he lived. He had also walked two miles in hot humid weather and said he was warm.  I went and got him some water. He also mentioned he was diabetic but when I asked him if the pharmacist could come check on him he told me no.  I asked my manager what to do do and she told me to just stay with him until the police showed up.  When the police showed up and he mentioned that he was diabetic they immediately called the paramedics to check him out. There were no issues with his blood sugar at all. The police had a hard time trying to figure out where he lived and finally just asked him for an ID. They did end up driving him home.  I was talking to one of the police officers while the paramedics were checking him out and she thought he may be in the beginning stages of dementia.  He knew where he was located as far as being at my store.  He was able to tell the police how he wound up there but he could not give them information about where he lived that made any sense.  He would not give the police the phone # to call his wife to leave work to come and get him.  I felt so bad for this poor man.  I would not let him out of my sight until the police showed up because I was scared he would try to walk home and get lost. I am glad our local police department is more than willing to help out in these types of situations.  I did call the pharmacy and talk to the pharmacist so I knew what to watch for if this was a Diabetes related issue.  The pharmacy manager agreed with me that there was no medical crisis and if the man was refusing assistance from him already he could not do anything.  The police even told me that as long as the man was refusing help from the pharmacy staff then there was nothing that could be done on the store level.  The paramedics and the police would have been able to use more force legally if he had refused to let the paramedics check him out due to his confused mental state. My grandmother had early stage dementia when she passed away and his behavior reminded me a lot of hers. I got him a chair and got him to sit down near me.  One of my regular customers who happens to be a retired nurse was shopping at the time heard me calling the police for assistance and she also came over and helped me keep him talking until the police left with him.  I did not know she was a retired nurse until I was ringing her up afterwards.  She told me she would have tried to step in if he had started showing any symptoms of issues from his diabetes. He also told her he was Diabetic but he felt fine other than being warm.  She agreed with my suggestion to keep giving him water until the police arrived.  

 

[DreamerRose]

@catlover73  - That sounds more like Alzheimer's than dementia.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

Alzheimers is a form of dementia.  

3 of my Grandparents have had forms of dementia.  It is an ugly ugly disease/syndrome.  It can be different for every person.  One of the first times we realized my Grandfather was dealing with something; he and Gram had gone for a drive and he had become confused on how to get home.  They did find he was low on certain vitamins.  My other grandmother started with symptoms after having a stroke.  

 

[mani]

 
Alzheimers is a form of dementia.  

3 of my Grandparents have had forms of dementia.  It is an ugly ugly disease/syndrome.  It can be different for every person.  One of the first times we realized my Grandfather was dealing with something; he and Gram had gone for a drive and he had become confused on how to get home.  They did find he was low on certain vitamins.  My other grandmother started with symptoms after having a stroke.  

  Yes, it really is a horrible disease.  I've been very lucky to not have it in my immediate family and I do really feel for those who have.

I'm going to do the course with my friend who is dealing with it with her brother.